Her Collateral Bride: A Lesbian Age Gap Romance

a bodyguard who was yakking and crapping his pants to keep

anyone safe. Claire was back to her regular ice queen ways for

sure, but Haley knew all about the crackers and electrolyte

drinks that Claire told Jean to go out and get.

“Claire?”

Claire’s lips thinned out. She stayed focused on the road

even though they were out of the worst of the highly congested

traffic. Haley opted to work on her paper at home instead of

having Claire shadow her in the library. She wouldn’t be able

to think there with her so close.

“Oh. I see. You think it’s better to say nothing at all because

that’s the safer bet. Because you think that telling anyone

anything about yourself lets them in and that’s a weakness and

you don’t do that because you’re all strong and independent.”

Claire rolled her eyes, and Haley was pleased with herself

for getting at least that much out of her. “I like water,” she

grumbled. She changed lanes aggressively, cutting off the

vehicle behind them, and horns blared.

Haley held her breath and grabbed for the handle on the

door beside her to brace for crunching m

etal, but Claire drove

confidently, pressing down on the gas and shooting forward to

a stretch of open lane. Snake’s driving paled in comparison. It

must be those six-inch heels that Claire always wore. Those

had to be murder on the feet and hell to drive in.

“Like, you like to drink water?”

“I like the water. The sound.”

Oh. That made sense, given that Claire’s house was front

and center to the sound. “Do you like how it looks or how it’s

always changing?”